Phillipsburg and Paulsboro High School’s wrestling teams, which are in different parts of the state and are in different groups, would never regularly meet in team competition, but about 15 years ago, the two schools decided to hold a special match each year allowing the two teams to compete.

In February, a few weeks after this year’s match, a photograph surfaced featuring seven Phillipsburg wrestlers surrounding a dark-colored wrestling dummy wearing a Paulsboro wrestling T-shirt. The dummy was hanging by a rope while the boys posed around it, two wearing cones under their hooded sweatshirts, pushing them into a point and one saluting in the background.

Now, in looking forward, Paulsboro’s administration and wrestling coaches have decided not to hold the annual match next year, according to Superintendent Walter Quint.

“It’s in the best judgment of the wrestling team that we put this relationship with Phillipsburg on hold for a year,” he said. “We know the unfortunate incident that happened doesn’t represent Phillipsburg or Phillipsburg wrestling, but the imagery they created was very, very wrong and very hurtful. Many of our citizens were very hurt by it.”

The administration will revisit the rivalry next year and decide whether or not they want to renew the partnership after taking the 2014-2015 season off. In the meantime, Quint hopes that Paulsboro’s S.U.R.E. Club — Students United for Respect and Equality — will have the opportunity to reach out to similar organizations at Phillipsburg and the two high schools will be able to mend the fences broken with this incident through education and understanding.

“The thing that’s most important is to respect our citizens and the pain they felt from this. It hurt us all. It offended us all,” Quint said. “But all students can learn from this.”